


Promises to the Dead

by lilacsilver



Series: Ability [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Darcy is a mutant, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-18
Updated: 2013-04-01
Packaged: 2017-11-29 16:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/689046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsilver/pseuds/lilacsilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>The first time it happened, Darcy was eight years old.</em> </p><p>In which Darcy Lewis is a mutant, and the world isn't kind to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on Chapter 6 of my Steve/Darcy drabble collection "In the Sun," because a few people wanted me to expand on it.
> 
> I know the prologue is short, but subsequent chapters will (hopefully) end up being longer.

_The first time it happened, Darcy was eight years old and her father had just stormed out, ending another explosive argument. Her mother was crying in the kitchen, and she didn’t know what else to do, so she tiptoed in and latched onto her mother’s waist._

_**Damn him gonna leave can’t do this anymore**. Grace Lewis’ mind hummed and crackled like a live wire, furious and harsh. Darcy let go with a gasp and her mother looked down._

_“What is it, sweetie?” she sniffed. “Did you need something?”_

_“Are you really gonna leave Daddy?” She didn’t mean to say it, but it slipped out before she could stop herself. Grace’s red-rimmed eyes went wide._

_“What? How did you…?”_

_Darcy explained the best way she knew how. Grace knelt down and looked her in the eye, serious and a little wary._

_“I don’t know what’s going on, Darcy, but swear to me you won’t tell anyone you can do this.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“It’s not…not normal, sweetie. Just promise me.”_

_“Okay, Mama.”_

\--

            For fifteen years she keeps the promise, and then her mother dies. Grace Lewis is forty-six years old, and Darcy barely half that, on the day of the accident. Darcy is in the middle of dealing with jack-booted thugs and alien gods and doesn’t find out for hours that her mother is gone.

            She can’t keep her promise anymore. Her world has changed, and she’s got to change with it, so she goes to Jane.

            “I have to tell you something,” she says. “And you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”

            “Okay,” Jane says. Darcy tells her. Something shifts in the air between them, another change; whether this one is good or bad remains to be seen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things actually happen, and someone else discovers Darcy's secret.

            Darcy follows Jane because there’s no way she wouldn’t. The only other person alive who knows her secret? Like hell she’d walk away.

            So yeah, she goes to Norway – and then, in almost no time at all, to New York. The city is slowly picking itself up, but SHIELD has a place for Jane. They’re not sure what to do with Darcy, so she’s allowed to hang out in the little office next to Jane’s lab for about a week before Tony Stark shows up.

            He takes one look at the set-up allotted to Jane and shudders in disgust. Apparently it _really_ offends him, for whatever reason, because the next thing Darcy knows they’ve been spirited away to the Stark Tower labs.

            She keeps well away from his hand-waving, flaily idea of a tour, because she knows all too well the kinds of things even an accidental touch can put in her head. Tony doesn’t notice, but Jane looks back at her worriedly.

            “You okay? I know this is all kind of…”

            “I’m good, everything’s good. Don’t worry about me, boss lady. Go play with your shiny new toys.”

            Jane hesitates for a moment before going to catch up with Tony, who doesn’t seem to have registered the temporary loss of his audience. Darcy perches on the corner of a desk, watching as Jane grows more and more excited.

            Somebody touches her on the shoulder. She gets a brief flash of thought – _why couldn’t he have waited…_ \-- and flinches. The hand pulls away quickly.

            “You must be Darcy,” says the most elegantly put-together woman Darcy has ever laid eyes on. Pepper Potts is smiling, though there’s an undeniable touch of exasperation in her eyes.

            “Uh, yeah. Yes. Wait, how did you know…?”

            “Jarvis told me, because _Tony_ must have forgotten.”

            Darcy nods. She’s used to dealing with absentminded geniuses, and she knows exactly how Pepper feels. Jane and Tony are now hovering over some machine or other, and don’t show any signs of ending their back-and-forth technobabble, so Darcy gladly follows when Pepper suggests they leave.

            “I doubt Tony has even thought about living arrangements,” Pepper says. “Lucky for you, though, we’ve got plenty of room.”

            “Thanks. You don’t have to…”

            “Actually, we do. It’s part of SHIELD’s requirements for letting Jane work off-site.”

            “Oh.” That makes a lot of sense. It doesn’t inspire warm and fuzzy feelings, exactly, because it’s giving Darcy some serious Big Brother vibes; but it makes sense. Pepper smiles slightly.

            “You’ll get used to it. Come with me and let’s check out those apartments for the two of you.”

            Her own apartment? In Stark Tower? Darcy hopes like hell that they won’t be charging rent, because she sure as hell can’t afford it.

\--

            The apartment is really nice (and, yes, rent-free). Jarvis is extraordinarily helpful, if a little hard to get used to. Things go very well for the first couple of weeks, so of _course_ it can’t last.

            Shit happens on a Tuesday. It involves a group of wannabe super-villains with big guns and no fear, and the one with the biggest gun manages to grab her. There’s a split second where she gets nothing from him, but then it floods her.

            _Gonna be famous they’re gonna be afraid of us they’re gonna know our names great I want them to be afraid_. This guy’s mind is an open book and a rollercoaster, and it makes her a little dizzy to hear so much.

            _Hey, asshole,_ she thinks shakily. It’s hard work, especially like this, to make the connection go both ways. She’s not powerful enough to hold it for long, so she tries to make her message count. _I know you can hear me. Let me go._

            She catches the strong burst of shock from the kid – because he can’t be long out of high school – before he lets go and shoves her away.

            “Mutant,” he gasps.  It’s not hard to hear the disgust in his voice. She slumps against the wall, closing her eyes, and in another moment or two the room is full of SHIELD agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another kind of short chapter. Sorry! I really did mean for it to be longer.


	3. Chapter 3

            Darcy thinks she’s never felt as small as she does right now, standing in front of both Fury and Hill. She wants to run and hide, to avoid dealing with all this, but she feels frozen in place.

            “When were you going to tell us, Ms. Lewis?” Fury’s voice is calm and even. “Don’t you think it was something we should have known from the start?”

            She considers this question and finds it to be rhetorical, because everyone knows Fury has eyes and ears everywhere. There’s no way he _didn’t_ know.

            “I thought you already did,” she says. “I mean, you’re the director of a spy outfit, and all.”

            “There’s not much I can’t find,” he agrees. “But I’m not thrilled when my people try to keep secrets.”

            “I’m not one of your agents.”

            “You’re on SHIELD payroll. It counts.” His eye narrows. “I assume you’ll continue to keep this need-to-know.”

            Darcy nods, and gets the hell out of his office when he tells her to.

\--

            She does end up hiding in her Tower apartment for the rest of the day, watching bad movies and feeling kind of sorry for herself. It’s got nothing to do with her mutant gene, and everything to do with the fact that she’d been held at gunpoint; at least that’s what she decides to tell anyone who asks.

            Sleep eludes her when she tries to take a nap, after the third or fourth awful romantic comedy in a row. She wishes she could call up her mother for advice, but that’s no longer an option. Jane isn’t really an option either, absorbed as she is in Stark’s impressive lab set-up.

            Eventually hunger becomes an issue. She ventures into her kitchen, intent on making dinner, only to be interrupted by Jarvis’ calm voice.

            “Ms. Lewis, I feel I should inform you that Dr. Foster and Ms. Potts are on their way to your apartment.”

            “Ugh, why?”

            “To see for themselves that you are all right, I believe. Apparently they do not entirely trust the official word on the matter.”

            She can’t say she blames them. SHIELD is full of liars and secret-keepers – which means she fits right in, she thinks guiltily. She leaves the kitchen and waits for the knock on the door, which comes a few seconds later.

            They don’t stay more than a minute or two, which suits Darcy just fine. She gets back to cooking dinner – chicken and brown rice – and soon settles in to eat. The food sits heavily in her stomach, though it had smelled so appetizing while it was cooking.

            She doesn’t know what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

            Three days later, on her way down to the lab to see if Jane needs her, Darcy runs smack into the single most attractive man she’s ever seen in her life. She resists the urge to pinch his cheeks when he starts apologizing, because he’s also _adorable_.

            “Are you all right?” he asks. “I’m sorry. I should have been paying more attention.”

            “Nothing hurt but my pride, dude,” she informs him. “No worries.”

            He looks doubtful. There’s a moment of awkward silence, during which she debates the merits of just stepping around him to see if he’s as attractive from the rear. He clears his throat and sticks his hand out to shake hers.

            “Steve Rogers,” he says.

            “Darcy Lewis.” She doesn’t shake his hand, and after a moment he lets it drop back to his side.

            “You’re here working with Dr. Foster, right? Ms. Potts mentioned something about that.”

            “Yep. I’m Jane’s assistant and errand girl, and occasionally I drag her out of the lab to make her eat real food.”

            “I…see. Well, it was nice meeting you, Ms. Lewis.” He flees, and she turns her head to watch him go. It turns out to be a very good decision.

\--

            She runs into him again a little while later, though not literally this time. She’s done a little digging, because (to her immense surprise) her clearance has been raised to level four after the talk with Fury. It doesn’t give her access to the really top-secret stuff, but she knows Steve Rogers’ story now. And she likes what she’s found out, which is the main reason she asks the question she asks.

            “So, Captain,” she says. “Have you had dinner yet?”

            He blinks. “Um…no, why?”

            “Because you’re kinda cute, I have a lot of questions to ask you, and the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Whichever one of those reasons makes you the least uncomfortable.”

            He blinks again. “Are you…wait, you called me ‘Captain.’ How did you find out?”

            “I do technically work for SHIELD. It gives me the clearance to know certain things about certain people.”

            “Oh. Well.”

            “Mm-hmm. So, you _haven’t_ had dinner yet. What’s your opinion on home-cooked meatloaf?”

            His whole face lights up. It makes him look even handsomer, which she wouldn’t have believed possible had she not seen it happen.  He follows her when she beckons, like a lost puppy, drawn in by the promise of good food.

            He talks about his mother while he’s chopping an onion, and she lets him pretend the onions are the reason his eyes start to water. She just passes him a clean dishtowel and goes back to the bell pepper that was the star of her own mother’s meatloaf recipe. She’s mostly improvising, because Grace never wrote the recipe down, but she knows better than to leave out the pepper.

            “So,” she says quietly, after a while. “How have you been…adjusting? I know it can’t be easy.”

            He shakes his head. “Not really. Ms. Potts and Jarvis have been helpful, but…everything is different now.”

            She doesn’t reach out to pat him on the arm, ever mindful of the risk of hearing things he might not want her to know, but it’s a near thing. To distract herself, she curls her fingers tightly around the edge of the counter, squeezing until it hurts.

            “Why did you invite me here?” he asks.

            “Because I know how it feels to be alone,” she says. “I’ve never really…had friends. No one wanted to be caught talking to the weird loner chick.”

            “You’re not weird,” Steve says immediately. “Why would anyone think you are?”

            “It’s a long story.” She sighs. “I thought you could use a friend, is all.”

            He smiles and scrapes the diced onion into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and she starts mixing it all together. Once that’s done, she puts it in the loaf pan and sticks it in the oven. It’ll be an hour until the meatloaf is ready, so she suggests a movie. After some debate, they settle on _Casablanca_ and sit down to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the curious, the meatloaf recipe is here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-meatloaf/
> 
> [I do not know if it is truly the "best" meatloaf because I've never tried it, so that could be a lie.]
> 
> Also, this chapter was written with Seals and Crofts' "Get Closer" playing on loop.


	5. Chapter 5

            Dinner with Steve becomes a regular thing. Darcy can’t deny that she’s attracted to him, but refuses to acknowledge it as anything more than a crush. She knows it’s because she’s scared he’ll turn his back on her when (not if) he finds out, and it’ll be hard enough just losing him as a friend.

            A month passes of twice-weekly dinners before she realizes she can’t pretend it’s just a little crush. More than that, she’s _tired_ of pretending. So when he shows up one night, according to their routine, she doesn’t let him in. She’s holed up in her bedroom, close to tears and feeling like the worst person in the world.

            “Ms. Lewis, Captain Rogers is growing rather agitated,” Jarvis says.

            “Fine,” she says. “Let him in.”

            She goes out to see him, fighting down the tears. She hopes he doesn’t notice, but apparently that’s too much to ask for, because his blue eyes narrow the moment they land on her.

            “Are you all right?”

            She takes a deep breath. “No. There’s…something I think I should tell you.”

\--

            He doesn’t walk away, or look at her with disgust or fear or hatred. He just listens, sitting there on her couch with his hands folded on his knees.

            She’s been holding onto this for a long time. It hurts a little to let it go, but when she’s done, she feels somehow lighter. Relieved.

            Steve reaches out, but stops just shy of touching her hand. He looks at her, the question clear in his eyes, and she just nods. His hand is warm and callused, and she turns her own hand over to tangle her fingers with his.

            _I’m sorry_. It surprises her to hear something meant for her, instead of hearing something that isn’t. She can’t figure out why he’s apologizing, though. Why should he be sorry? She lets go of his hand, breaking the connection, because she doesn’t want to hear any more.

            “Darcy,” he says. “Do you want me to leave?”

            “No,” she says. “I…don’t want to be alone.”

            “Okay.”

            He stays and sits with her in silence, and doesn’t try to hold her hand again. But when he does leave, an hour or so later, she surprises him and herself by going up on tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his lips.

            She’s not quite there yet. The kiss is just a promise that she will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And again, I wrote this while listening to Seals and Crofts' "Get Closer." I regret nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

            “Word on the street is yer one o’ those mind-readin’ mutants,” one of them says. He sounds like one of her mother’s cousins who lives somewhere on the Alabama-Georgia line, only considerably more evil. Before she can spend much time trying to figure out who might have given these guys her life story, a different one speaks up.

            “We got us a man here who won’t give us the info we need. We’re thinkin’ you might be able to help with that.”

            “And if I don’t?” She fails to keep the tremor out of her voice. The first guy grins.

            “Well, then yer little scientist friend might get in trouble. C’mon, let’s go.” He yanks her to her feet and drags her out of the room down a short hallway. They stop at another door, which he unlocks with a code. And then another code. And then a voice ID. Who the hell are they holding behind that door?

            She gets her answer a few moments later, and it stops her cold. They’ve got Tony fucking Stark. He doesn’t look too good.

            Okay. Okay, she can work with this. SHIELD must know he’s missing, and it won’t be too long before they find a way in. She’s just got to hold out a little while, and hope he forgives her for this later. She won’t be digging for whatever it is they want her to find, but she’ll still be looking.

            “Get to it, then,” the criminal says. “I’ll be back in a little while t’ see how yer doin’.”

            He leaves. The door hisses shut behind him. She hears the distinct sound of a lock engaging, and turns her attention back to Tony.

            “Hey, Stark,” she says. He opens his eyes and blinks at her, and it takes a moment for the fog of confusion to clear.

            “Lewis? What…what’re you…”

            “I’ll explain later,” she says. “But first…I’m sorry, Tony. I’m so sorry.”

            She reaches out and closes her fingers around his wrist. His thoughts are scattered and quick, but she catches things like _was supposed to take Pep to dinner tonight_ and _should really give Jarvis a security upgrade_.

            Tony looks more alert now, and he struggles to sit up. She doesn’t stop him. He looks at her, then down at her grip on his wrist, and pulls his arm away.

            “What the hell?” he asks.

            She starts to answer him, but is interrupted by distant shouting and gunshots and the thunder of running feet. Some of the shouting starts to get closer, and she eventually hears her own name in the middle of it all.

            “ _Open the damn door_ ,” someone orders from the other side. “ _I won’t ask you again._ ”

            The lock disengages and the door hisses open. It’s Hawkeye and another agent, and they waste no time getting Tony to his feet.

            “Get him to the chopper,” Hawkeye orders. “He’ll need the medics.”

            “What about her?”

            “Cap wants visual confirmation she’s alive. Where is he?”

            “Five yards and closing,” the agent says, looking out the door. “Let’s get you out of here, Stark.”

\--

            Steve doesn’t leave her side until she’s done with debrief, several hours later. By then she’s exhausted and just wants to go back to the Tower (and then never leave again).

            Back in her apartment, she flops down on the couch and pats the cushion next to her, inviting Steve to sit. Instead of doing that, though, he takes up a spot in front of the couch on the floor, facing her.

            “I was going out of my mind,” he says. “When they said you were missing, I was ready to charge in alone.”

            “You do kinda make a habit of that,” she says. “Or so I’ve heard.”

            She’s not ready to hear this right now. She wants at least ten hours of sleep before they have this talk, and doesn’t want it to be just because she got kidnapped off the street.

            “Darcy, I…”

            “Don’t,” she says. “Please. Not like this.”

            “Okay.” He sounds defeated and weary. She reaches for his hand when he gets up to leave.

            “I just meant…don’t say it because you were scared. Say it when you’ve had a chance to calm down, and then if you’re still sure…”

            “Okay,” he repeats, and it’s a little lighter this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I felt I had to post something after making y'all wait so long.


	7. Chapter 7

            A couple of days later, Tony shows up at Darcy’s door. She braces herself for questions, because he probably hacked her file from his hospital bed and knows all about her little secret. She’s not prepared for what he actually does, which is to stand there and study her for five minutes like she’s a puzzle to be figured out.

            “Did you need something, or are you just gonna stare at me?” she asks.

            “I found out something very interesting today,” he says, confirming her suspicions. “And I’m curious, does Stevie boy know yet?”

            “Wow. That’s really what you came here to ask me? You chose that over any of the hundred _other_ questions you could’ve asked?”

            “I have a vested interest in our dear Captain’s happiness. See, if he’s happy, it means he’s less concerned with trying to make me ‘play nice’ and ‘get my ass kicked by our resident ex-Russian.’”

            She sighs. “Yes, he knows. As for his happiness, you’d have to ask him. I haven’t seen him since he tried to tell me…something.”

            “Oh, is _that_ why he’s currently beating the shit out of some innocent punching bags in the gym? Silly me, I assumed it was just some everyday Capsicle angst.” He turns on his heel and leaves, but over his shoulder he says, “Go fix this, Sparky.”

            When he’s gone, she quietly asks Jarvis to direct her to the gym. If there’s anything left _to_ fix, then she’s at least got to try.

\--

            She stands in the doorway and watches Steve for a few minutes. Even from here she can see the tension around his narrowed eyes, in the set of his jaw. He must know she’s here, but he doesn’t show it.

            “Steve,” she says. That’s all, just his name, but it stops him cold. Slowly, he turns his head and meets her eyes across the room. He looks so damn tired, and she realizes it might be too late.

            But no, he’s there in front of her almost before she can blink. He reaches out hesitantly, waiting for permission, which she gives with a nod. He cups her cheek for a moment, then his hand slides into her hair and he leans down.

            She meets him in the middle. His other hand settles at the small of her back, and she wraps her arms around his neck. His lips are surprisingly soft, and he holds her like she’s made of glass. She hears just one thought: _finally_.

            When he pulls away and looks down at her, he’s smiling. She smiles back and reaches up to run her fingers through his hair, messing it up.

\--

            That’s not the end of it, though. There are still things she knows he wants to say, so they retreat from the gym to her apartment, and she listens.

            “I didn’t think I’d ever find anyone,” he says. “Not in this century. Peggy was…well, I don’t know if we would’ve worked out or not. But I…I did love her.”

            Darcy says nothing. She’s read about Agent Carter, but there was almost nothing in that file about Steve’s relationship with her.

            Speaking of which, he’s talking again. “And then you ran into me in the hallway. You looked right through the shield, the same way Peggy did. You saw _me_ , not Captain America.”

            He stops and looks at her, as if to gauge her reaction. She looks down at her hands, biting her lip. All of her earlier happiness from their kiss seems to have deserted her, and now she’s uncertain.

            “Steve, I…”

            “If you really don’t feel the same, just say so,” he says. “I can take it.”

            “Of course I feel the same way. How could I not? But Steve, you deserve so much more than me.”

            “That’s not true!”

            “It is,” she says. “I can’t even touch another person without reading their mind. I still can’t trust my _own_ thoughts ‘cause…’cause I don’t forget anything I hear. I’m screwed up, and you should go look for someone who isn’t.”

            He doesn’t answer, just sets a hand on her shoulder and thinks hard at her: _I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’ve made my choice, but you need to make yours._

            She concentrates, but she’s just too tired to make the connection go the other way. So she curls into his side and whispers her answer in his ear.

            “I’m in.”

            He kisses her on the forehead, and his closeness is almost enough to make her forget how scared she is. This might still blow up in their faces and leave her more alone than ever, but she knows it’s something worth fighting for.

            And she will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we've only got the epilogue left. I know, I'm sad about it too.


	8. Epilogue

            “Of course I’m happy, Jane.” She takes a sip of water and realizes just how true her statement is. She’s more than happy, she’s ecstatic. For the first time in a long time, everything is going just the way she wants it to.

            “I know, but…we moved here kinda suddenly, and I got so distracted I never checked in with you as much as I should’ve.” Jane sounds genuinely worried, and Darcy rushes to console her.

            “You had science on the brain. I get it. Besides, it didn’t take me long to adjust.”

            “So I hear.” Jane grins at her. “How is the Captain, by the way?”

            “He’s good. We’re good. Everything’s good.”

            “Good,” Jane says. There’s a pause, and then they both laugh. Darcy hasn’t laughed in a while, and it feels fantastic just to let go for a minute. The buzz of her phone brings her back down to earth.

            It’s a text from Steve. **I’m finished with debrief. I’ll be home in an hour. I love you.**

            She smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is the end! Sorry it took so long to update, especially considering how short this chapter is. Also, I do not yet know whether there will be a sequel to this; it all depends on how many people would be interested in reading one.


End file.
